An Alkaline-Inspired Kale Salad

Balance is important in various aspects of our lives, including our body’s pH balance.

A quick science lesson…at a super simple level, pH represents how much hydrogen is in a solution. If a solution has more hydrogen than hydroxide, it is acidic…vice-versa, then it’s alkaline. The pH scale ranges from 0 – 14 (0 being the most acidic, 14 being the most alkaline/basic and 7 being neutral). Candy and pop, for example rank around a 2-3 on the scale – they’re super acidic; broccoli and apples rank an 8-9 on the scale – super alkaline; and pure water ranks right it the middle as a 7.

If we’re following a healthy, balanced diet, our bodies are pretty great at regulating pH levels naturally, but if we’re eating too many acidic foods, our bodies can become acidic – causing a weakened immune system and increased inflammation. If our bodies become too alkaline we may experience muscle spasms, nausea, light-headedness and a slew of other unpleasant symptoms.

Balancing your diet by eating from both sides of the pH spectrum is optimal, however putting a little bit more attention on alkaline foods is better than eating too much acidic-based foods.

The average glass of water ranks right in the middle of the pH scale, making it very neutral. Flow water, however, has an alkaline pH of 8.1, due to the calcium carbonate that is added from the limestone bedrock in Flow’s family-owned artisan spring in Bruce County, Ontario. It’s a naturally filtered water, full of nutritious minerals and packed in a 100% recyclable, BPA-free Tetra Pak. It’s pretty great! It also tastes amazing. You know how some bottled waters have that tang to them…like Dasani…? Flow has zero taste. It’s just so pure and delicious.

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the brand new Flow plant in Newmarket, Ontario to learn all about where their water comes from, how it travels from Bruce County to Newmarket and how it gets packaged. It was all so interesting and I totally felt like I was in that show How It’s Made on the Discovery Channel.

Remove the kale leaves from the stem, rinse with water and chop finely. Sauté the kale until just slightly wilted – this should only take 3-5 minutes. Once you remove from the pan and it’s cool, wring out any excess water from the kale using paper towel (or a cloth towel).

While the kale continues to cool, finely dice the cabbage, shred the carrots and chop up the avocado. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and massage the dressing into the kale. Mix in the carrots, cabbage, avocado, raisins and grate a little parmesan on top.

An Alkaline-Inspired Kale Salad was last modified: May 16th, 2017 by Megan

The Editor: MM

Megan is a Toronto lifestyle blogger with a passion to inspire balanced, stress-free living in everyday life.
She is a lover of yoga, meditation, art, design, makeup, cooking, chocolate and wine. Visit the 'About' page to learn more.